In the processing of tubular knitted fabric, it is not uncommon for the fabric to be processed with liquid chemical solutions of various kinds. Typical such solutions include finishing resins. Early forms of processing lines for this purpose are reflected in, for example, the S. Cohn U.S. Pat. No. 1,893,197 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,045,755, and also in the Baker U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,818, all assigned to Samcoe Holding Corporation.
In the system of the S. Cohn U.S. Pat. No. 2,045,755, for example, tubular knitted fabric is initially passed over a spreader frame, and is then guided through a pan of treating solution. After leaving the treating solution, the fabric advances into and through a pair of pad rollers, arranged to disperse the liquid through the fabric and to express from the fabric excess solution. In the arrangement of the prior patent, the approaching fabric is carried upwardly by the lower one of a pair of pad rolls, so that excess solution, extracted from the fabric in the nip, flows downwardly over the surface of the fabric. In addition, processing solution is flowed downwardly over the upper roll and is carried thereby into the roller nip.
In accordance with one of the specific aspects of the present invention, tubular knitted fabric is guided directly and immediately from the discharge end of the fabric spreader into the nip of a pair of padding rollers. Processing solution is applied to the fabric by a series of liquid sprays, directed at the fabric, immediately in advance of the roller nip. A significant advantage of this general approach is that the fabric travels only in extremely short distance between the time of application of the liquid processing solution and the passage of the fabric through the padding nip. It will be appreciated, in this respect, that tubular knitted fabric, when wet, loses geometric stability and, in many cases, may become difficult to control and process. In particular, the fabric is apt to undergo a significant loss in width whenever wet fabric is subjected to lengthwise tension which is more or less inevitable in the processing of a continuous length of fabric.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the incoming tubular knitted fabric is passed over a generally horizontally disposed spreader, positioned in advance of the padding rolls. The spreader is, however, slightly inclined downwardly toward the padding roll nip. The arrangement is such that the laterally distended fabric approaches the padding nip generally horizontally, but inclined slightly downward. As the fabric approaches the nip, it becomes saturated with excess processing solution. The free liquid solution, in the region of the roller nip, will tend to flow along the fabric by gravity, if permitted to do so. By downwardly inclining the spreader frame, the natural downward sag of the fabric is sufficiently compensated for to prevent the gravity flow of the excess material in an upstream direction, which might otherwise form a puddle in the center of the fabric.
For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment and to the accompanying drawing.